


Not a Commando

by Kaydalen



Series: Kind des Universums - Child of the Universe [3]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Gen, No Romance, Pre-Mass Effect 1, Young Shepard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-07
Updated: 2016-10-07
Packaged: 2018-08-19 23:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8228903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaydalen/pseuds/Kaydalen
Summary: Matriarch Aethyta meets a human child on Thessia, who wants to become an Asari Commando so badly that she nearly loses her own way.(Part two of the "Child of the Universe" series)





	

**Author's Note:**

> An unfinished One Shot I found in the depths of my Story folders. I finished it and cleaned it up to get back into writing (and writing in English). I try to finish more unfinished stuff later on.

**Year 2165**

 

Aethyta remembered; it was snowing when she met her for the first time.

She just came from a frustrating meeting with some other Matriarchs and she was furious. Furious about them being so blind about everything, furious about being ignored and her concerns being brushed off again and again. They all claimed to be so wise, due to them being alive for several centuries now, but Aethyta wasn't convinced.

The Asari were not prepared for whoever would choose to raid them, one day or another, who or whatever was may lurking behind the horizon. A young generation full of clumsy mercenaries and strippers was not good enough to keep their race alive and protected.

And if the old insisted to sit on their asses and do nothing besides discussing this problems and blaming everyone else but themselves in the end, if they actually _did_ come to the conclusion something was amiss, their race would soon go downhill faster than Aethyta could say “Told 'ya”.

Bitterly Aethyta stuffed her glowed hands inside her coats pockets, but still couldn't get them to warm up. An annoyed snort escaped her lips, her breath turning into a small cloud midair and she decided to pick up the pace to get home as fast as possible.

She wasn't even looking where she was going, she had walked this path too many times now to still have to pay much attention, but this time something was different. Snow was rare on Thessia. The Asari were accustomed to a warm and hot climate and the cold always hit them all like a brick to the face, though it still didn't keep the majority of them from going to work or school.

The Asari left footprints in the snow, that was covering the pavement and turned the corner, hearing the noises of the skycars above her.

There she saw it. _Her._

Aethyta was just about to pass an Academy for young Asari, who intended to become Commandos, a big, impressive building, as white as the snow. Modern, funded by the military and popular with the Maiden and even the Matrons. But the small figure leaning against the frozen locked gate from the outside, which drew her attention, wasn't an Asari.

It was a human, a small human, her hair dark brown, nearly black, though painted with white spots where the snow hadn't melted yet. Her blue jacket seemed way to large for her and massive boots protected her feet from the cold.

She had her forehead pressed against the bars separating her from the Academies property. It was hard to read her expression.

“What are you doing there?”

Aethyta clearly startled the young as she approached her and in an instant she let go of the gate, as it had just burned her palms and gave the Asari a frightened stare. She stopped before she got to close, the human appeared to be ready to flee. She probably expected her to give her trouble.

Humans were as rare on Thessia as the snow. Sure, some of the Maidens had found alien bondmates, since the new race had collided with the Turians years ago, but they usually didn't set a foot on Thessia. The war was over for some time now, and the humans had made themselves quite a name in the galaxy, one way or another. Behind their backs some called them heartless and blunt, ready to run over everything and everyone in their way to success. Indecisive maybe, every individual having two or more opinions regarding the same topic. They were unique, still a mystery.

The tiny one in front of her hinted to be none of these things though. Her body tense, her expression kinda anxious, yet she remained, looking her straight in the eyes, which had a bright purple color. Pretty brave.

“Nothing.”

Aethyta expected that answer. Human children didn't strike her to be so different from their own young.

“If you think about going in there, then think again”, the Asari alerted her, nodding in the direction of the Academy, “This isn't for you.”

“Why not?”, the human wanted to know, her lower lip quivering as she was about to cry, her hands clenched to fists, “I'm just as good as them.”

“Listen, kid, this is a school for Asari about to become Commandos. And I don't think that _you_ are an Asari.”

These words had surely hit a nerve, but Aethyta couldn't quite tell which one of them. The little ones expression became less anxious and more a mix of fury and desperation.

“I am!”, she sniffed, her nose already red from the cold, her eyes watering. She didn't want to cry, the Asari could clearly see it, she was trying to hide it, to keep her sadness and whatever was bothering her from spilling over.

“Oh, for fucks sake, so you left your tentacles at home today, eh? I don't know who made you believe that, but that's bullshit. You're a human, not an Asari.”

The little girl didn't answer, shook her head violently and suddenly raised her arm.

“Leave me alone or I'll show you what I can do!”

This simple move got Aethyta by surprise. It wasn't just a child throwing a tantrum, acting out something she had seen on a TV show, this pose seemed too familiar, too real. She had never been a Commando herself, but she had seen some of them in action more than once, in the countless wars she had already witnessed in her life.

This was actually a motion the Commandos learned when they just began their training. An aiming practice, to teach them to direct their attacks into a specific direction.  
Knees slightly bend, Torso turned sideways, a strong foothold. Elbow locked, targeting preferably at the lower parts of the enemies body to get them off their feet with a well placed biotic attack.

This human hadn't been here for the first time, she was sure of it. She probably had watched the Commandos train for some time now, otherwise she wouldn't have memorized their steps that well. Wouldn't have that attitude.

She could actually imagine her sneaking around the Academy, catching glimpses through the windows, hiding in the bushes to watch their training on the field on the outside. Being at home in the middle of the night, the moon shining down on her and trying to imitate and master everything she had seen and heard.

To make herself feel better. To show herself what she could achieve, what she was capable of. She admired them. Like a lot of people. They inspired her to push herself to the limits, but it was still no use. It wasn't enough for her. It didn't satisfy her. It didn't make her feel what she wanted to feel. Because unlike them she couldn't become a Commando no matter how hard she was trying since she wasn't an Asari. And that was clearly bothering her.

It was actually pretty sad.

But now it was time to pull her back into reality.

“You can't scare me, kid.”

With a simple wave of her hand Aethyta send the human flying. Her biotics caught her, launched her some feet off the ground and send her flying until she landed on her back, whirled up the snow, the impact drew the air out of her lungs.

“You may have the guts, but you're missing the biotics.”

The girl started coughing, moaning, gasping for air and turned on her stomach to slowly push herself up again. She surely was startled, but not hurt - That hadn't been Aethytas intention anyway.

She maintained her composure, took a deep breath when she stopped coughing.

Her blue jacket was covered in snow.

“You can't just become a Commando and you can't just become an Asari.”

Aethyta stepped closer and reached out to offer to pull the girl back to her feet. She was curious. Why was she here? Why did she want to become someone else so badly? She had to be with another Asari, she wouldn't survive on Thessia all on her own and the government didn't allow human immigrants just yet anyway.

For a few moments they both basically froze in position. The girl didn't know how to react, Aethyta didn't know what to say – Which was pretty rare. The snow fell, the skycars raced far above their heads.

“But I don't want to be me anymore either.”

Silence.

The humans eyes watered, her lip quivered again and unexpectedly she burst out crying. The tears rolled down her cheeks and just now, where she could see her face up close, the Asari noticed a big scar stretching over her face, originating from her right eyebrow, crossing the bridge of her nose and stopping at her chin.

Something in this humans life surely had gone horribly wrong.

“There, there, don't cry.”

Without waiting for her consent Aethyta pulled her up and brushed off the snow covering her, suddenly felt a little bit guilty for being so harsh before.

“You can't be anyone else but yourself.”

Years and years of experience had taught her that. A few of her daughters had tried to be someone they are not, had tried to live up to the expectations of another and had failed horribly, feeling even worse afterward. And she'd be lying if she said her Maiden self didn't have thoughts like that as well.

But it was important for the young one to understand that being herself was just fine, that being herself was what made her unique, no matter what life had thrown at her and probably still would in the future.

She had fallen and yet needed help to get back up. This one time.

“The others don't like me, they say I'm weird”, the human opened up to her, still sobbing, didn't make the impression to be afraid of her, despite the Asari just knocking her off her feet with her biotics. She was cautious, yes, a little distant, but still showed that strong expression behind her scars and tears.

“They are little shits then”, Aethyta shrugged and offered the child a tissue, “Who said that to you?”

“The other Asari from my class. They make fun of me because I don't have biotics. I don't think they like humans.”

Silently the girl cleaned her face and took a deep breath, her fingers lingered on her scar for a split second, trailing over the bridge of her nose, like she was remembering something. Whatever it was, it stopped her from letting more tears flow. Her lips curled downwards.

The Matriarch didn't know any school which allowed other species to attend class. The Asari were proud of their knowledge and the education they could offer their young and usually they didn't share. A lot of buttons had to be pushed by a bunch of important and influential people to make this happen. Impressive.

“They just don't know you very well then”, Aethyta tried to cheer her up, “Or humans. What's your name, kid?”

The human child hesitated, licked over her lips.

“Maeve. Maeve Shepard.”

“I'm Aethyta. Where do you live?”

Her whole frustration regarding the Matriarchs was long forgotten. Usually she wouldn't stop if it was just an Asari Maiden simply admiring the Commandos, it was too usual, too common, but the case of this lost, insecure and yet so brave human had hooked her and in a strange way she felt responsible.

What was her story?

Silently Maeve pointed down the road, towards the high and modern skyscrapers matching the Academies design, placed among large parks and usually owned by Asari who were part of the military and their families. So Aethytas assumption about her caretaker hadn't been that far fetched.

“I'll take you home, It's getting cold.”

The human child's nose was already red and running, though the Asari couldn't tell if it was from crying or due to the icy wind making the snowflakes dance around them. Aethyta had to walk the same way anyway, so she could drop the lost kid off her home as well.

“Fine.”

Maeve gave the Academy another quick look, as she was trying to catch a last glance at the dashing soon-to-be Asari Commandos. Her eyes lingered, she buried her bare hands inside her jackets pockets, before she caught up to the Matriarch who was already on her way, stomping on purpose in the Asaris footprints left in the snow.

The walk wasn't long enough for the both of them to engage in another conversation. Silently they were on their way, Aethyta greeting Asari crossing her path and catching Maeve silently admiring the various representations of the species who couldn't help but shoot her curious glances as well.

They both remained silent, too busy with their own thoughts, while the things they worried about couldn't have been farther apart.

“Maeve! By the Goddess!”

The quiet was disturbed by an Asari running up to them, her expression a mix of desperation and worry. She was not a Maiden anymore, she could tell, but not yet a Matriarch either. She had to be a Matron, who finally found her place in this world. Her skin had a light purple color, matching the young girls eyes, her face painted with light blue facial tattoos, she sighed in relief when she caught the human in her arms.

“I was so worried, where have you been?”

“Nowhere”, Maeve answered, her voice muffled as her face was buried in the Asaris clothes.

Aethyta was sure she had seen her before, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

“I picked your little one up from the Academy for Commandos”, the Matriarch informed her and earned a glance that screamed “betrayal” from the young girl.

“Again? We talked about this, Maeve.”

Figured. So she was right about her not being there for the first time. She wondered if the human had shared her worries with the Matron as well. She must had.

“I know, I know.”

Like a mother scolding her child, yet they couldn't be related by blood. How did they met? How did this girl get to Thessia?

“Thank you so much for taking care of her, Aethyta”, the Asari thanked her. She did seem to know her. The Matriarchs usually were widely known, so this wasn't a surprise. Her spouse Benezia had earned her a whole lot more attention than she would have liked. Her Pureblood child, who had been studying at Thessias best University and still got her diggings funded by them, did her part as well. Everyone knew Dr. T'Soni by now.

“You should take better care of your young, child”, she admonished her, “I fear I don't know your name.”

“Naalea T'Zusa”, she introduced herself, slowly letting the human breath again, but still having a hand on her shoulder lovingly, “Commando, Daughter of Geleya T'Zusa, I'm sure you know her.”

Of course she knew the former Commander of the Destiny Ascension, now an Admiral and an important part of the Asari military. Her spouse wasn't that unknown either, being in the military as well, but as an Instructor with a focus on biotics. Both were strong and well known personalities and their daughter was following their example. Even as a Pureblood she made it into the Commandos, which was a proof of her strong will.

“A pleasure.”

Again her view shifted to Maeve, who was eying her curiously, clinging onto the Asaris arm.

“Follow your mothers example”, she advised, “Accept yourself for who you are, kid. Don't try to be something you're not. Don't let others make you feel bad about who you are. And make the best out of the gifts you have been given.”

“What do you mean?” Naalea didn't seem to have realized she wasn't talking to her any longer.

“She knows.”

The Matriarch reached out.

Again there was this strong will in the child's eyes. The anxiousness had melted away, her body wasn't tense anymore and she took her hand with a strong grip.

Aethyta knew she was right about her.

“It you're coming of age, come and find me”, she offered, “Then I'll teach you how to put these gifts to use, if you haven't already found out yourself.”

When Naalea was surprised or confused, she didn't show it, she was simply pulling Maeve closer to her protectively.

The girl didn't react at first. Then she furrowed her brows, curled her lips to a sly smile and nodded.

One day she would find out why this child was stranded on Thessia.  
One day she would find out where she got those scars.  
One day she would find out what had made this strong willed character feel so insecure about herself.

But this day wasn't today.

The child still had some years to find herself, to realize her own potential, to stop wanting to walk into someone elses footprints where her little shoes wouldn't leave marks of their own.

And if that day, that realization, came, the universe should brace itself.


End file.
